(Second.) One ought to be well aware that every bandage has a tendency
to fall off towards the part that declines or becomes smaller; as, for
example, upwards, in the case of the head, and downwards, in the case of
the leg. The turns of the bandage should be made from right to left, and
from left to right, except on the head, where it should be in a straight
direction. When opposite parts are to be bandaged together, we must use
a bandage with two heads; or if we make use of a bandage with one head,
we must attach it in like manner at some fixed point: such, for example,
as the middle of the head; and so in other cases. Those parts which are
much exposed to motion, such as the joints, where there is a flexion, should
have few and slight bandages applied to them, as at the ham; but where
there is much extension, the bandage should be single and broad, as at
the kneepan; and for the maintenance of the bandage in its proper place,
some turns should be carried to those parts which are not much moved, and
are lank, such as the parts above and below the knee. In the case of the
shoulder; a fold should be carried round by the other armpit; in that of
the groin, by the flanks of the opposite side; and of the leg, to above
the calf of the leg. When the bandage has a tendency to escape above, it
should be secured below, and vice versa; and where there is no means of
doing this, as in the case of the head, the turns are to be made mostly
on the most level part of the head, and the folds are to be done with as
little obliquity as possible, so that the firmest part being last applied
may secure the portions which are more movable. When we cannot secure the
bandaging by means of folds of the cloth, nor by suspending them from the
opposite side, we must have recourse to stitching it with ligatures, either
passed circularly or in the form of a seam.